A MAJOR conference on how maritime and industrial heritage can boost the future of waterfront cities will be held in Liverpool for the first time this month.
The event at the Titanic Hotel, Stanley Dock, is free to the public and will include talks by several nationally - acclaimed maritime, transport and industrial experts and will take place on October 19-20.
The conference is called Reconnections: Land, Water, Cities and Heritage - Sustainable futures for Waterfront Cities for our Industrial Maritime and Transport Heritage and thanks to wide-ranging sponsorship it is free to attend by registering at www.maritimeheritage.org.uk .
The sponsors are Maritime Heritage Trust, ABTEM (the Association of British Transport & Engineering Museums), National Historic Ships and Transport Trust. Three of the UK's leading waterfront city councils, Liverpool, Belfast and Cardiff, have also come together to help support the event.
​​ The opening event on October 19, organised by Liverpool City Council, will look at waterfront regeneration potential using international experience with a focus on ship preservation and include a reception on the Liverpool tall ship Kathleen and May, at Canning Dock.
The keynote speakers on October 20 will include Sir Neil Cossons, former English Heritage chairman who began his career at Liverpool Museums; Sara Crofts, Heritage Lottery Fund head of historic environment; and Paul Lewin, Ffestiniog and Welsh Highland Railway general manager.
Other speakers will represent National Historic Ships, Transport Trust, ABTEM and National Railway Museum. The conference chairman will be the leading international transport heritage commentator and activist David Morgan, who is also Maritime Heritage Trust chairman.
The day will include a series of workshops with expert advice on how to apply for grants, running successful project operations, fundraising and attracting new generations of supporters and volunteers. The underlying theme will be how to build effective local partnerships.
Also speaking will be Dan Cross, chairman of the locally-based Daniel Adamson Preservation Trust, owner of Britain's last steam tug-tender, the 113-year-old SS Daniel Adamson, now being restored at Cammell Laird shipyard, Birkenhead.
Henry Cleary, the conference organiser, said: "We are very excited about holding this event in Liverpool for the first time. We are also very pleased that the public can attend free thanks to the generous support of our sponsors ABTEM, National Historic Ships, Transport Trust, Maritime Heritage Trust, Liverpool, Belfast and Cardiff city councils.
"This conference has real potential to look in detail at many of the sustainability issues which face waterfront cities and how they can be helped by the heritage sector.
"A great example of this is our conference venue, the Titanic Hotel, which is one of the most remarkable historic building conversions in this region in recent years." ​
To book a place at the conference and further details about the programme are at: www.maritimeheritage.org.uk and specific enquiries can be emailed to: conference@maritimeheritage.org.uk.